Michael Westen
Michael Westen is the main protagonist and narrator in the television series Burn Notice. He is portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan. History ﻿Early History Michael was born in Miami (01/07/1967), and suffered through a horrible and disfunctional childhood with his father, Frank Westen, beating him repeatedly as a measure of obedience, as well as taking advantage of him for his own gain (e.g. by having Michael fake a seizure inside a Mr. Goodwrench store so Frank could steal some spark plugs in his quest to finish his beloved custom-built car; The Charger). Frank died two years after Michael became a spy but Michael refused to attend his funeral despite his mother's protests. However, after being burned (spy speak for being fired from the agency), and after persistent persuasion from his mother Madeline Westen, Michael did visit his father's grave eight years after missing the funeral. He stated the "Beloved" term placed on his gravestone was "a bit of a stretch" (as Michael still hated his father), he nevertheless gruffly thanked his father for The Charger, which his mother claimed Frank wanted him to have. The rest of his family, while unconditionally caring about him, are nevertheless full of flaws; his mother is neurotic and a hypochondriac, and his younger brother Nate Westen is a compulsive gambler and later petty criminal and con-artist, who had a history of stealing from Michael to fund his gambling addiction. ﻿Spy Career Michael joined the United States Army at the age of 17, wishing to get away from his family. He later claimed that he was happiest when he was in a different hemisphere from the rest of his family. Leaving with nothing but $50 and a change of clothes, Michael never turned back, and vowed to never return to Miami. After a stint as an Army Ranger, Michael became a Covert Intelligence Operative (Agent) freelancing for the CIA. For the next 10 years, Michael served the United States of America in covert operations all over the world, though mostly in Eastern Europe and the OPEC countries. He was also known to have conducted operations in Africa and Ireland, where he met Fiona Glenanne. Over the course of his career, Michael gained a considerable reputation as a peerless operative. In fact, his name became so well known in the spy world that many foreign operatives thought that he was a ghost story publicized by the Americans to cow other agencies into compliance. Michael believes his unhappy childhood, mostly his father's responsibility, has helped make him into a natural covert operative, though as a result, it has made relationships difficult for him. With time, Michael became a cynic hardened by experience, though also soon reveals he has a soft, and sometimes vulnerable, side to himself. His specialties were tactical analysis, hand-to-hand combat and cooking. The exact details of his missions are, as yet, unknown. ﻿Burned Michael was on a dangerous mission to Nigeria. At a critical moment in the middle of the mission; Michael's contact on his cell-phone suddenly informed him the mission was off; and they had a "Burn Notice" on him (identifying him as an unreliable or dangerous agent; and is effectively fired), thus he is black-listed. Shooting and stealing his way to an airport, Michael was barely able to escape from those he was dealing with. He was severely beaten before escaping to the airport where he caught a plane. One he get on the plane, he passes out and was then effectively dumped in his hometown of Miami without money or resources, unable to leave or risk "disappearing" completely (being killed). Having been "burned" (considered an untrustworthy entity), his bank accounts seized, and his assets frozen, Michael is cut off from all of his contacts and flagged on every government list known to man (as the skills and knowledge he possess cannot be taken back, so instead they take the resources that allow him to function, all to make sure he can never work again). This is every spy's worst nightmare, and Michael is living it. Current Status Currently, though officially Michael is still burned, unofficially he is working with the CIA as a freelance spy after taking down The Organization. However, since Kessler, the leader of the organization, killed himself before he could be apprehended, Michael is left without an answer as to why he was burned and put through such an ordeal for the last four years. Michael continues to receive help from his ex-girlfriend Fiona Glenanne (though it seems they are in a relationship again), friend Sam Axe and Jesse Porter, who now has a job at a private security firm. Michael appears to be more committing to relationships than before, as in a recent episode he asked Fiona to move in with him and decided to build her a shelf, providing space for all her snow globes, something she had complained about earlier in the episode. Michael continues to uses his unique skills and training to try to find work. He makes a small living off his wits and investigative jobs, helping desperate people with problems that they can't go to the police with, as well as whoever else needs his services. These jobs come from multiple sources, such as Sam doing somebody a favour or Jesse, whose firm cannot handle a case that unique. On a personal level, he contends with his mother, who calls him 30 times a day as she couldn't be happier to have her son back in town, and brother on a daily basis. Elsewhere he lives in a cheap, low key apartment. Now stuck in Miami, he must confront the bad memories of his childhood, and repair the broken relationships he left behind. Personality Having endured a horrible childhood which also involved him suffering regular beatings at the hands of his deceased father, Frank, Michael has become something of a distant character, afraid to committ to a long-term relationship or to let anyone get too close to him. Despite, or perhaps because of this, he's a very skilled spy, using his abilities to help others in trouble. Unlike any fellow spies he's met who have succumbed to their killing urges, Michael has a strong sense of empathy and refuses to kill anyone unless it's really necessary or if he's been pushed to a point which is shown when he shoots Tom Strickler in "Long Way Back". He's also extremely protective of his friends, family and clients, looks after their interests, and is unwilling to let anyone endanger them even if it does mean giving into his enemy's demands sometimes. Skills & Talents Michael is highly skilled and extremely clever. displaying his abilities by quickly thinking on his feet, improvising electronic devices from commonly available commercial equipment (e.g. radios, cell phones etc.) and using ordinary items (ranging from duct tape to cake frosting) in highly unorthodox ways in order to complete a job. Michael also became an expert martial artist, with around 30 years of karate and 2 black belts. He also received Special Operations training, and became rated with "anything that fires a bullet or holds an edge". Background Information & Notes *Michael appears to favor the SIG Sauer P228 (9x19mm) as his primary sidearm which is known to be easy to conceal. In season four, he appears to have changed his weapon to the larger and more modern Heckler and Koch P30 (9mm parabellum) which has a bigger capacity and superior ergonomics than the P228. The P30 is given to him by Cole, the former US marine turned hitman in season 4's "Centre of the storm", to replace the P228 which Cole disposed of and as a reward for helping him escape from his ruthless clients. *Michael appears to favor Emerson knives, especially the Karambit, though which one is hard to identify. He threatens Larry with it after Larry uses Mike's name to get close with the Drug Cartels. *Michael's signature sunglasses are made by Oliver Peoples, and the style is called "Victory". In the episode "Broken Rules", Michael claimed he got the sunglasses from an Algerian special ops soldier he tangled with who "didn't need them anymore." *Michael seems to have a fondness for yogurt (particularly Blueberry) as he is often seen talking about it and eating it in various episodes. In the episode "Broken Rules" he blackmails an agent by showing him multiple embarrassing photos, one of them of the agent breaking inside Michael's home without a warrant and eating his yogurt. Later seasons have reduced the emphasis on Michael's favorite snack, but yogurt still makes occassional appearances. *Michael usually wears an Armani suit similar to Leonard Shelby in Memento. *When secretly breaking into a person's home, Michael tends to snack on food items in the person's kitchen, such as tortilla chips and yogurt. *Michael also tends to whistle whenever he's impressed. *His car is a black 1973 Dodge Charger which was destroyed in "Last Stand" when he detonates a large amount of explosives to buy time for them to get away from "The Management's" Tactical Team. References External links * USA Burn Notice: Michael Westen Character Bio at USA.com * Burned in Miami: Michael Westen, an unofficial fansite. 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